Mixed fortunes of war

Recently given an international human rights award for her work on the rights of disabled people, Rima Canawati is Programme Director of the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation. She tells Disability Now how the Arab/Israeli conflict affects and shapes the lives of disabled people in the Palestinian Territories

I come from Palestine, a troubled country under occupation for years.

Vulnerable groups, especially those of us with disabilities, continue to bear the brunt of this suffering: constantly facing traumatising situations against which we are defenceless. Our fundamental rights to life, freedom, education, health and a normal environment conducive to personal development and welfare have been systematically denied or violated.

Throughout their longstanding history of national resistance to the Israeli occupation, Palestinians have been exposed to severe violence that resulted in hundreds of martyrs, including 120 martyrs with disability, and thousands of injuries causing temporary or permanent disabilities (over 7,000); thus the war has represented one of the major causes of disability, particularly among young Palestinians. These political factors that led to an increasing number of conflict-related disabilities have, in many ways, positively influenced the attitudes of the community towards disability. Injured Palestinians whose disability resulted from the ongoing conflict were seen as heroes defending their rights to freedom and independence.

This new perspective to disability contributed to the gradual shift from the charity/medical model to the social/rights based model in Palestinian society. The newly emerging human rights perspective to disability actually served as a base for the Palestinian law on the rights of disabled people 4/99, through which the provision of accessible services was based on the rights of persons with disability to have equal opportunities in society. However, this law has not been implemented yet and the executive regulations for implementing it still need amendments. The non-implementation of the disability law could be due to severe financial constraints on the part of the Palestinian Authority, but also to the fact that disability issues are not yet a priority on the national agenda under the constantly deteriorating political and socio-economic conditions in the country.

According to World Bank reports, more than 66 per cent of the Palestinian population live below the poverty line. Almost all persons with disabilities in Palestine also subsist below the poverty line. Disabled people are among the most disadvantaged in Palestine and are often the poorest of the poor. It is very difficult to break the vicious cycle of disability and poverty.

Social exclusion and isolation are a frequent part of the daily experience of Palestinian disabled people. They are often disempowered, deprived of the opportunity to participate in society or in productive work, and thus become impoverished more easily than the rest of the population. Disabled women are vulnerable to double discrimination because of their gender and of their disability. Young disabled people are more likely to be out of school and on the streets. The majority of adults with disabilities remain unemployed despite their great potential and desire to contribute to the work force. They often face prejudice from employers, co-workers and society, and lack opportunities for education and training from a young age.

In general, a high percentage of Palestinian disabled people, especially in rural areas, live in social isolation as a result of negative attitudes towards disability in their community. They also lack easy access to medical, rehabilitation, educational, vocational and community services due to far distance, transportation difficulties/inaccessible means of transport, movement restrictions (due to the Israeli check points, especially with the construction of the separation wall which divided the Palestinian territories into isolated cantons), in addition to their poor socio-economic status. Eliminating poverty is unlikely to be achieved in Palestine unless the rights and needs of excluded people with disabilities are taken into account and prioritised on the political agenda.

I had been struggling with gradual vision loss since the age of five due to Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) until I lost my sight completely in my early twenties. I finished high school at a regular school in Bethlehem, got a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature at Bethlehem University – Palestine, then a Master’s degree in Special Education at Lancaster University in the UK. I started working at Bethlehem Arab Society For Rehabilitation (BASR) in 1993 as head of the special education department, then I was promoted as head of special education and community programmes.

I’ve been recently promoted as Director of Programme Development as part of the Senior Leadership Team of BASR.

I helped develop several community day-care centres into integrated educational settings, accommodating kindergartens and primary classes as well as toy libraries, where children with and without disability learn and play together and jointly participate in different learning, cultural, play and recreational activities. I also developed a vocational training centre for young people with intellectual disability, the most marginalised and disadvantaged group in Palestine, since such services are lacking in the country. The centre accommodates such vocational activities as loom weaving, olive wood work, paper recycling, charcoal production for heating purposes as well as domestic care and agricultural care activities. Their products
are widely marketed locally and overseas.

In addition, at the beginning of the last Intifadah, I established a psychosocial intervention programme to meet the psychosocial needs of traumatised and abused children, especially those with disability and their families, victims of the ongoing violence. It is the only programme that specialises in working with disabled people and their families, meeting their psychosocial needs and promoting their well being.

I’ve also initiated capacity building activities for Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) and organised numerous training events/workshops in disability related fields, as well as training in advocacy and lobbying for the rights of disabled people. In co-operation with a local theatre group, I also initiated the production of a special theatre show, depicting the physical and attitudinal barriers that hinder the full and effective participation of Palestinian disabled people in different aspects of their lives in spite of our capabilities.

Being a woman in a somewhat conservative society and a woman with a disability, I faced many challenges due to many barriers, but I was determined to fulfil my aspirations and struggle for my right to equal opportunities in education and employment.